This invention relates to storage and handling of disc cartridges and more particularly to an optical disc cartridge handling apparatus with a removable disc cartridge magazine which stores and handles optical disc cartridges for the manipulation of data by a host computer.
The storage of data in magnetic media, such as floppy discs or tapes, is well known. However, optical discs have been found to be highly advantageous over the magnetic media. This is so because the optical discs have high degrees of integrity and data storage capabilities together with a high level of sensitivity as well as environmental toughness.
The optical disc cartridges which hold the laser discs are a high-density data storage media. Currently, the media hold 0.6 gigabytes per cartridge which are soon approaching 1.2 gigabytes on up to 3 gigabytes in the very near future. The cartridges perform the function of protecting the discs from dust or dirt. It has also been found that to keep the discs free from dust or dirt they advantageously should be continuously oriented in their vertical position rather than laying flat or horizontal which will subject the discs to collection of dust or dirt. Optical discs within cartridges are readily available in the marketplace such as from Sony Corporation of Tokyo, Japan.
Optical disc drives or the data transfer means are currently available in the market such as the RICOH 5030E REWRITABLE, TOSHIBA WM-D070 WORM, PIONEER DD-U5001 WORM, SONY SMO D-501 REWRITABLE, and MAXOPTIX TAHITI REWRITABLE. Typically, the optical disc cartridge must be removed and inverted or flipped with reinsertion for the drive to read the other opposite side of the disc within the cartridge. This is because most drives have only one laser thereby requiring the disc to be flipped over or inverted for reading or writing the other side of the disc. However, optical disc drives are beginning to be marketed and soon will be prevalent that will have more than one laser which will allow quick access to the storage data on either side of the optical disc media. In the present invention, the reading and writing of data storage on the optical disc within the cartridge is performed by the drive under the control of a host computer.
There is a need for an optical disc cartridge handling apparatus with a removable cartridge magazine that will operate as a library to vertically store a number of optical disc cartridges and which will place the cartridges within a particular optical disc drive as well as remove and replace the cartridges back into their storage location without the need for any manual assistance by the operator of the host computer. It would furthermore be advantageous for such an apparatus to have a removable cartridge magazine which will enable the operator to readily interchange optical discs within the apparatus as a group without disassembly or timely individual discs removable from the apparatus. Such an apparatus should be compact and operate in a smooth, accurate and fast manner. It also should have preventive mechanisms which will safeguard the apparatus and its contents from possible mechanical shock or jarring.